Process of clarifying and concentrating fruit-juices.



E. MONTI.

PRocr-:ss oF cLAmFwNGI/IND coNcENmAnNG Faun Julcss.

APPLICATION FILED SEPT. l5, I9I I.

Patented (Ict. 26, 1915.

2 SHEETS-SHEET l.

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2 SHEETS-SHEET 2.

APPLICATION FILED SEPT. l5.,19I I.

7765372656569/ Jrg/MMM Massei.

ject of the lKing of ltaly, residing at 20A JEUDO MONTI, OF TURIN, ITALY.

Specification of Letters Patent. f l' ortie.

JPROCESSOF CLARIFYING AND CONCENTRATING FRUIT-JUICES.

Patented @et 26, 1915..

.Original application ledULApril 20, 1909s Serial No. 491,408' Divided and this application led September To all whom it may concern.'

Be it known that l, Enno MONTI, a sub- Via Figlie dei Militariflurin, Italy, have invented certain newv and useful improvements in Processes of Clarifying and Concentrating Fruit-Juices, of whichl the following is a specification.

The present invention relates to improvemerits in process for clarifying, maturing, aging and if necessary also of the concentration of fruit juices, particularly such as wines, liquors, musts, and spirits, by which process a product is obtained which is absolutely .identical with that from a natural process.

rlh'is application isa division of mypendijn application Serial No., 491,408, led April 20, 1909. rlhis process of clarification and aging for which the apparatus illustratedA in the accompanying drawings has -been designed/consists in the saturation with air of the solution at low temperature (near the point ot congealingcfof said solution),

andvin the subsequent dissolving of the air on the return of said solution to ordinary summer heat; 'and further repeating the procedure,if necessary, until the complete elimination of the substances that are susceptible to produce insoluble compositions by oxidi- ,zation w'lhe natural aging oiE wines. and

spirits is due to a slowphenomenon of oxidization caused by the filtration of air through the walls of the cask and from' the sub-,-

stances extracted from-the 4wood of the cask. By the use of this apparatus an articial aging is obtained in a short time in every respect identical with the very slow knatural aging of cognac,spirits and wines, for which the said phenomenon of oxidization of the wood extracts from the cask has a very great importance on account 'of the davor which it gives tol said liquids. For this purpose chips or shavings or the like, of the same kind of wood, ordinarily employed for the casks, are filled in the special `vessel through which the wines or liquids circulate mixed with nely divided air. The natural rening and .maturation of the musts, giving a characteristic Havor to the l musts, are also due to an oxidizing phenomenon produced by the slow passage of air through tissues surrounding the fruit or ot passing thingh them of certain special mustiness ohr/tie einer-ea) which renders Serial No. 649,420.

' fthe said phenomenon very active by destroying the pellicles enveloping the fruit.

`By the use of the apparatus of the present application the suspended matter and the greater part of the ferments'are separated by decantation and filtration when cold or at an ordinary temperature; the must is then concentrated nearly to the point of congealing when about 40% to 50% of sugar is obtained; a saturation with air thereupon follows and filtration if necessary; V andv finally the must is reheated to about 50' C. in drder to render inactive, the Zymase without precipitating the albuminoids and the phosphates and without driving out the ether 'and other volatile substances, which have very great influence on the taste and the hygienic properties of the' product. rlhis process of clarifying andkaging applied to musts concentrated cold, permits of obtaining products that have the characteristic flavor from musts ofgrapes or dried fruit and particularly of grapes that have been affected by Edelfaule (Botryts cinema.)

The apparatus as represented in the drawings shows the application of the process for producing wines, musts, etc., on a large scale, illustrating one embodiment fof the invention, and Figure 1 is a horizontal section oi a set of four tanks for clarifying and aging ofi the liquids; Fig. 2, a vertical sec-- vtio-n of Fig. 1, Fig. 3, a diagrammatic plan of a plant of this kind; Fig. 4, ,a vertical section of an apparatus for complete aging: 'Fig 5, a 'diagrammatic vertical section of the concentrating apparatus as applied to ,tional circulation, through the conduit 3 `f'ormed by them, of avery dry current, having the temperature. at which it is desired tomaintain the solutionn the tank (see the arrangement in Fig. 1 for four communicating tanks).

Between the perforated lay-ers of two adjacent tanks,.and between the outside `ot" the layers and the masonry of the casing is in-y los terposed a box layer of tin plate, zinc or other suitable material having its outer surface polished, hermetically closed and containing sawdust, ashes or any other pulverthe fluid has been cooled-prbecause of the,

fluid running through a receptacle, in case it should have the temperature of summer heat, is apt to give an opposing current with a fluid of for instance chlorid of calcium. The upper part 5 of each tank is closed by a lid 6 turning on hinges. Through the opening 5 access may be had to the interior for cleaning and removing the" deposits that have collected during the operation in the' central recess 7 at the bottom 8 of the tank. Two holes 9 and 10 have been made in the lid, which are ordinarily closed by means' lof two bolts 9a and 10a; these holes serve for filling and discharging the liquid in the tank. It would be suilicient to adapt one of the two tubes 11 to reach nearly to the bottom. The liquid is now introduced through said tube while the air escapes through the other hole, which is left open. To extract the liquid, on'the other hand, it may be carried away through tube 11 by suction' or else by means of aflixing a tube to the other hole, introducing air orpany other gas under pressure, thereby forcing the liquid through the tube 11.

To saturate thetsolution with air,t a tube 12 is disposed at 'the bottom 8 of the tank, which tube is entirely perforated and of circular or any other shape, and through this tube cold air is made to pass,entering under pressure from tube 13, which is, pref-f erably, taken through one of the holes in the lid, the other holebeing left open for escape of excess of air which has not beenv dissolved on passing through the solution, and which air might possibly be used for a subsequent airing of the vessels `for the purpose of avoiding all waste of alcohol or ether. Y

"The plant shown vdiagrammatically in Fig. 3 for clarifying and aging of wines, musts, etc., comprises two sets of tanks, of which one set R is intended for the cold treatment of the solution and for the saturation thereof with air; the other set of .receptacle 15.

to circulate of the saine temperature as the solution is intended to have, as described above. When, after a certain time, the solution has to be transferred from a tank R to a tank R, it is first madeto pass, under,

pressure and in opposite direction through tube 16. The solution being now intimately intermingled with air, should be filtered as slowly as possible in order to permit the wood or wood extract to oxidize on contact with the air and to be incorporated with the solution. This object is attained by. regulating the cock 17 and by thus varying at Will the speed with which the solution travels from tank R to the iavoring The solution passes subsequently through a ilter18 where it delivers all the suspended substances with which it` is mixed, and thereupon,y through the pipe 198L of the temperator 19 through which simultaneously circulates in pipe 19b the solution in an opposing current, comparatively cold coming from one of the tanks R (which is the practicey when large quantities of solution are treated) whereby considerable economy is gained for recuperating the heat, due to the therminal exchange bef tween the two solutions. The solution, now lightly heated, passes from the temperator into the' coils o the heater 20, in which its temperature by means of the circulation of a surrounding liquid of desired temperature, is furtheriraised to the one existing in the tanks Rn into which the solution is immediately introduced by pipe 20 and re' spirits andsome special Wines, it is advisable to` insert one or more of the avoring receptacles 15 in the circuit of the solution between the warm tank R to the cold one R, so as to acquire for the solution in a perfeet manner, the taste and characteristic of the natural aging.

In Fig. 5 is-represented diagrammatically,,

a plant for concentration of the solution (previous or subsequent) by means of congeafing. This plant comprises a number of congealing vats in which are disposed cooling pipes 211, through which circulates the fluid which has been compressed in the compressor 25, and refrigerated in the condenser 26. Below the vats 23 are found the chamk bers 27 which serve to receive the coneen trated solutions as Well as the more and more diluted solutions.

lt is easy to comprehend how it is possible by means of the plants represented in Figs. 3 and 5 to effect in a. simple; rational and practical manner all the operations of clarifying, aging and concentrating the treated solution without regard to what kind of wines or musts etc. it might be, or whether it has already undergone, or is subsequently to undergo, any other treatment.

lt is obvious that the two plants shown in Figs. 3 and', might be run independent as well as in combination with each other.

The expression fruit juices in the claims is intendedto inelude'such fruit juices as wine musts and spirits whether fermented or unfermented.

1. rl`he process of clarifying and concentrating fruit juices, which have been obtained by the pressing of berries or other fruit, said process consisting in first cooling the fruit juice in suitable tanks at a temperature slightly above its freezing point while saturating the juice with air; in Athereupon drawing off' the thus clarified juice from the dregs and slowly passing the clarified juice through a counter current of sterilized air at a still very low temperature; in then liltering the clarified juice and gradually warming it to somewhat below curdlingpoint; lastly in storing the filtered juice at this high temperature.

Y in

2.` The process of clarifying and, concentrating fruit juices, which have been obtained by the pressing of berries or other fruit, said process consisting in rst cooling the fruit juice approximately to the point of congealing in suitable tanks while saturating the juice with air; in thereupon drawing olf the thus clarified juice from the dregs then slowly passing all the clarified juice through a counter current of sterilized air at about the same temperature, and preferably in the presence of wood-shavings; in then filtering the clarified juice. and gradually warming it to not over C.; in then storing the liltered juice at this high temperature and in lastly retreating the filtered and storedjuice by repeating this process.

3. The process of clarifying and concentrating fruit juices, which have been obtained by the pressing ofberries or other fruit, said process consisting in first cooling the fruit juice approximately to theJ point ofl congealing in suitable tanks while saturating the juice with air; in thereupon drawing off the thus clarified juice from the dregs and letting it set for a certain time; in then slowly passing the clarified juice through a counter current of sterilized air at about the same temperature, and preferably iny the presence of wood-shavings; in then filtering the clarified juicel and gradually warming it to not over 500 C.; in then storing .the ltered juice at this high temperature andrin lastly retreating the filtered, and stored juice by repeating this process.

The foregoing specification signed at Turin, ltaly this 26th day of August, 1911.

EUDO MUNTll. ln presence of JOCELYN GOUBEYRAN, Bonino STErHANo. 

